Pledge-break messages tend to be something that public television and radio audiences tolerate rather than welcome, but Steve Martin is riding to the rescue with a witty clip he shot for PBS stations to air during fundraising campaigns starting next month.

“Hi, Steve Martin again,” he says at the top of the clip. “You know I’m not just asking you to make a pledge to PBS. I’m also asking my celebrity friends. Right now I’m going to text Tom Hanks, my big celebrity friend.”

The response Martin reads when his cellphone dings isn’t quite what stations look for, but the bit refreshingly avoids the stiff testimonials that typify these campaigns.

The comedian and filmmaker turned Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician will be featured in his first live concert for television in "Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell Live" premiering March 4 on PBS' Great Performances. In the pledge-break clip, he displays a copy of a video of the performance that will be offered as a donation premium.

“When you contribute and get your DVD,” he says, “you will also get uncontrollable muscle movements like head-nodding and foot-tapping, a feeling of euphoria…,” continuing like a fast-paced patent medicine pitch man.

Here’s the clip, which also premieres March 4 and will be aired on all PBS TV stations, according to a spokeswoman. Donate accordingly.

L.A. rap collective Odd Future will have to unpack: Authorities in New Zealand have refused to allow the group into the country for a scheduled appearance Saturday opening for Eminem after deeming it a threat to public order.

Fans who saw the last show of U2’s North American tour Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City had an incredible bit of luck. For one thing, Bill Clinton was in the house, but blessedly refrained from sitting in on saxophone.

Fans who showed up Wednesday night in New York to see U2 tribute band Unforgettable Fire got more than their money’s worth when members of the real U2 — guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton — joined the performance.

The free summer concerts at the Levitt Pavilion band shells have long offered an invigorating mix of touring and local acts to the L.A. area. Saturday’s show at the Levitt in Pasadena figures to be one of this season’s highlights with the grand-scale retro collective Vaud and the Villains.